My Trip to Haiti; July 2009 - Part II

I hadn’t been back to Haiti since 1980 and Michele was curious as to how Haiti of today compared with the Haiti I knew 35 years ago. Sadly, there were mostly minuses in Port au Prince.

When I lived there, Port au Prince had a real charm. Yes the city was crowded and dirty, but the suburb of Petionville, which is where I lived, was a delightful place. There were some good restaurants, a few good hotels (the Olaffson was very eclectic with some strange and mysterious characters hanging out there including Graham Greene, author of the Comedians), and the people of Haiti were wonderful. Power, water, and telephone services were spotty but this only added to the sense that you were on a true tropical adventure.

Today, Port au Prince is teaming with people, far more than ever before. The crush of traffic is four times worse than it was. There is little or no zoning, so small offices sit amongst residences, and small ugly cinderblock buildings abutt the streets making it feel like the walls are closing in on you. There are motorcycles everywhere, where once there were none when I lived there.

Gone is the charm. I felt like I was in India where the overcrowding and pollution are notorious.

However, I did see one huge positive. What is still alive and well is the spirit of the Haitian people. They have always been and still are wonderful. And when I arrived in Port Salut, I found the charm I once knew in Port au Prince still existed; it had just moved to this remote rural part of Haiti.

The most gratifying reason for living in Haiti has always been the people. I am pleased to say that hasn’t changed. Haitians are the most hopeful group of people I have ever known, even when there appears to be no reason for hope. They are friendly and kind, and quick to laugh. They are industrious and very hard working. They value their communities to the point that many never leave, even to visit Port au Prince. They are family oriented and villages often form committees to help each other. For instance, often if someone dies, the village pitches in to pay for the funeral. If a road needs improving, scores of villagers volunteer their time and effort to make repairs.

Haitians are a proud people and they are especially proud of their independence as a country and their freedom from slavery which they won, in battle, from the French in 1804. They are keenly aware that they are the first independent black nation in the western hemisphere. In their culture, many of their traditions are deeply rooted in their African heritage.

When I lived in Haiti, I remember making a trip to a rural area where I was approached by an old woman who implored me to ask my government and the Haitian government to provide them with schools and medical help. This is still true today, and is what I heard at the meetings I attended with Michele. Haitians aren’t looking for handouts nor are they looking for our pity. Instead the message I hear is: provide me with the health care so I can be productive – educate me so I can lift myself out of poverty.

I was happy to go back to Haiti and overjoyed to know that the spirit of Haiti still lives in the people I meet on this trip. These are hard working people who share the same values we hold dear. They are worthy of our investment in them because I know with a little help, they will one day lift themselves out of poverty, a poverty they had little to do in creating, but that story is for another column.